Improved fork-blank



dimmi tatet @anni demini.

Lette/rs Patent No. 91,367, dated J'fcme 15, 1869.

' IMPnovED FORK-BLANK The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patentand making part of the same.

To all whom it ma/y concern:

n. Be it known that I, J. C. RICHARDSON, of Ilion, 1n the county ofHerkimer, and State of New York, have invented a new and improvedFork-Blank; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making a part of this specication, in which- Figure 1 is aperspective view of a narrow strip of metal from which the blanks areproduced.

Figure 2 is a perspective View of a tool which'is adapted forperforating 511e blanks, to forrn their shoulders, preparatory tosplitting the metal.

Figure 3 shows the general form of two blanks which have beenperforated, but not split.

Figures 4 and 5 show blanks which have been perforated and split.

f Figure o' shows. a blankready to be formed into a ork.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention relates to an improvement iu the manufacture of blanksfrom which to producel dung or stable-forks.

The object of my invention is to produce the shoulder or crotch betweenthe middle tines of a fork-blank by crowding the metal which isdisplaced t-o form such shoulder or opening into thebody of metal att-hejunction of the head and shank or tang ofthe blank, thereby greatlystrengthening the metal at thenpoint which is subjected to the greateststrain in using a fork, and avoiding the necessity o f cutting out apiece of the stock, to produce said shoulder, preparatory tospreading-and shaping the prongs ofthe blank, as will be hereinafterexplained.

To enable othe'sskilled in the art to understand myfinvention, I willdescribe its` construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings- A represents a strip of metal, which ismade of the proper width and thickness to vproduce four-tinedforkblanks, such as are'shown in figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6.

By means of a suitable cutter, I form, at one operation, the tang orshank B and rounded or bevelled head c. At the same time, I separate ablank from the stock, and leave the end of the strip A, from which theblank was cut,'of the exact shape required for the ends ofthe prongs, CC', of the succecding'blank; and the space which is left in the middleofthe width of the strip A, by cutting ont/the tang or shank B, allowsthe prongs G C to be separated, preparatory to drawing them out intonished tines.

Previous to splitting the blanks, as shown at h h g iu-gs. 4, 5, and 6,I produce what are termed the shoulders on the blanks. To do this, Iform, through each blank, at the point a, a hole, which will vary inwidth, according to the size of the fork to be produced, or t'hedistance apart required for the middle tines of a ork.

This space or hole @has been made heretofore by cutting a piece of themetal from the'blank; also by leaving the piece cut out upon the end ofthe tang or shank of a succeeding blank. In the former instance, thepiece is wasted, and the shoulder necessarily reduced in thickness. Inthe latter instance, the end of the tang or shank upon which said pieceis left requires to be hammered and reduced to a finished point.

I now produce the. hole a, of any required size and A shape, by means ofa tapering tool, substantially as shown in iig; 2, and lettered G, bymeans of which, and while the blank is in a highly-heated state, the

metal which is displaced, to produce the hole a, is

crowded out laterally, and condensed into the body of metal which is atthe junction of the head c and tang or shank B.

After thus producing the openings a, the blanks are split, as shown at hh g, so that the prongs .G C O C' can be spread out, and drawn down, toform a fork, in the usual well-known manner.

l prefer to construct the blanks of the form substantially as shown inthe drawing, fig. 5; that is to say, with a tang or shank, B, and arounded shoulder, c, produced by cutting from a plate, A, substantiallyas above described; but I do, not confine my invention to this mode ofgiving shape to the fork-blank, as the head c and tau g B can beproduced by hammering and drawing, or in any other suitable manner,either previousI to or succeeding the operation of forming the hole a,by crowding the displaced metal into the head of the blank.

I do not claim, under this patent, the forming of a shoulder upon afork-blank, by cutting ont a piece of met-al therefrom, as this has beendone before.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. In 'the manufacture of a fork-blank, substantially such as described,crowding the metal which occupied the space c into that part of theblank constituting the head,in the manner specified, so as to condensethe metal of said head, and thereby strengthen the shoulder at itsjunction with the tang B, all substantially as described.

2. The improved new article of manufacture herein described, to wit, thefork-blank, with the metal which occupied the space a forced into thehead ofthe blank, at the junction of the head with the tang B, all asset forth.

Witnesses: J. G. RICHARDSON.

I. I. Fours, W. H. ELLIOT.

